Bellmont won ten of fourteen bouts but the South Adams Starfires made some lasting impressions in a tense, but entertaining night at the StarDome in one of Bellmont’s rare appearances in the venue in program history, winning 48-21.
Three JV matches preceded what was an exciting night of high school wrestling, with Bellmont fans, often creatures of extreme habit, so unfamiliar with the venue that they struggled to know where to sit to take in all the action.
The dual meet began at a good spot for the home team at 138 pounds, but Keven Loshe came off his back and pinned sophomore Braxton Kirchner to get the ball rolling for the Braves, who entered the night ranked #2 in the state in 2A.
Chandler Thomas was inches from getting a fall call on a headlock early in his match, but Wyatt Mann survived and tossed some revenge, sticking Thomas and leveling the score.
The home team then took the lead by handing sophomore Sam Wolpert, who appeared to be injured after the match, his first loss of the season. That win came by fall and the StarDome was louder than it has been years as the home crowd and young future Starfires cheered on.
That excitement did not last long, however, as Bellmont reeled off seven wins in a row, beginning with an emphatic fall by senior Blake Luginbill in under a minute at 150 pounds.
Gavin Davis showed his strengths on his feet with a 9-4 win over Isaiah Meyer at 157 and Xavior Palacios showed off his abilities with the cradle to come out of several dangerous situations against Luke Baumann.
Sprinkled in between were falls by Duke Myers, Cole Mendez and Keagan Martin, all seniors, for the Braves.
After Grady Baker beat out Phoenix Boxell at heavyweight by decision, Titus Loshe and Ben Mills, two freshmen 106s, used a stalling point and a locked hands penalty, to take their match to overtime, and Loshe scored the first victory of his high school career in the extra period, showing his sprawling and countering prowess.
Another close match came at 120, where Henry Faurote needed a late reversal to get by Dakota Sprunger.
The meet ended with a win by Will Patterson at 126 for the Starfires.
After the match, coach Robert Loshe praised the Braves for their solid lineup and lack of holes to attack.
His counterpart, Bellmont coach Tim Myers, bemoaned the Braves’ lack of intensity and blamed weight management as one of the reasons the team did not look as sharp as he wanted them to.
“It’s something we have to work on,” he told WZBD. “Weighing in on a Saturday night is a brand new format for us and we didn’t handle it well tonight. We were not ready and we can’t afford to do that again.”
The win sets the Braves up with a 14-0 record heading into Friday and Saturday’s NE8 Duals, while the Starfires are now 1-2 but in great shape considering the two losses may have come to the two best 2A teams in Indiana. Coach Loshe’s team will wrestle in their conference duals this weekend, as well.
Bellmont 48 South Adams 21
132-Keven Loshe (B) p. Braxton Kirchner, 2:33
138-Wyatt Mann (SA) p. Chandler Thomas, 1:42
144-Colton Bollenbacher (SA) p. Sam Wolpert, 1:15
150-Blake Luginbill (B) p. Mark McKinley, :36
157-Gavin Davis (B) d. Isaiah Meyer, 9-4
165-Duke Myers (B) p. Wes Summersett, 2:55
175-Xavior Palacios (B) d. Luke Bauman, 13-8
190-Cole Mendez (B) p. Ethan Riley, :52
215-Keagan Martin (B) p. Bryan Roll, 1:28
285-Grady Baker (B) d. Phoenix Boxell, 6-3
106-Titus Loshe (SA) d. Ben Mills, 5-3, OT
113-Ethan Curtis (B) p. Daniel Rupp, 4:40
120-Henry Faurote (B) d. Dakota Sprunger, 6-5
126-Will Patterson (SA) p. Will Franze, 4:36